Anglo-French Wars

The Anglo-French Wars (1066-1557) were a series of wars between England and France, fought over England's possessions in France. The two countreis were incessantly in conflict over the expansion of English territory, resulting in wars such as the War of Bouvines (1204-14), the War of Saintonge (1242), the War of Saint-Sardos (1324), the Hundred Years War (1337-1453), and the Italian Wars (1494-1557). In 1557, Calais (the last English stronghold in France) fell, ending England's wars in France and their possessions in continental Europe.

Background
England's unification with the Duchy of Normandy in 1066 under the rule of King William the Conqueror linked Normandy's conflicts with France to England, as well as the territories of the two lands. England became an empire, controlling not just England but also Normandy in northern France. William the Conqueror united the British Isles by 1108, taking over Wales, York, Scotland, and Ireland from the Scots and rebels, and he also took the time to add Rennes (Brittany) and Bordeaux (Aquitaine) to his empire.

France sat idle while England expanded their holdings, with France too busy fighting off the Duchy of Burgundy. The English king Henry I of England proposed an invasion of France to add more lands to his "Angevin Empire", named for the House of Plantagenet, which was a part of the larger House of Anjou (a house that linked England and France).

Campaigns of Henry I
In 1134, England began their first war with France by laying siege to Angers, a castle of northern France that bordered the Duchy of Normandy. The English army besieged Dimenche de Lyon, a French noble, in the city, with the large English army under Duke Robert of Normandy facing a small army of 22 bodyguards of the general and 75 French spearmen. The English captured Angers in 1138, having ignored the Pope's demands to stop the bloodshed against their fellow Catholics (leading to the excommunication of King Stephen I).

France responded to the English invasion by continuing war, besieging the recently-captured Angers in 1140. They were repelled by the English garrison, and in 1144 the English laid siege to Paris itself. The French capital fell into the hands of England, and in 1148 the English took control of Rheims as well. France was forced to their cities of Toulouse and Marseilles, but they were aided when the Duchy of Milan joined in the war on the side of France. In 1154 the Milanese laid siege to Angers, but were repelled. While the English fought off the Milanese in Angers, the French occupied Caen peacefully, as there was no garrison present; they returned to besiege and recapture the city from the French.

In 1162, the Milanese laid siege to Paris, but were pushed back by the English garrison. The same year, the English unsuccessfully laid siege to Toulouse, with an army leaving Aquitaine to attack Toulouse. The English army was defeated and withdrew back to Bordeaux. However, the English defeated a French attempt at retaking Angers in 1170, and two years later they repulsed Captain Giuliano's siege of Rheims. Just four years later in 1176, the Milanese again besieged Rheims, but English noble Garret Longe defeated the attack against many odds, and the English remained in control of Rheims.